Pokemon Black and White :: Shadowed Dusk
by Mardigraskit
Summary: Unova won't know what hit it. Hints at Canon/OC and headcanons. Arc one of the ABCC gang adventure.


**Welcome to the first arc of Pokemon Black and White, Shadowed Dusk.**

**This chapter's full title is ' The First Fall Begins With A Single Step '**

**Feedback, critique, reviews, and comments are accepted.**

**I can't take all the credit, as my good friend mewhunter9 helped me a lot with this and keeping me motivated. She'll be referenced multiple times, and some of her characters will be making appearances.**

Cilan found himself in denial.

Denial of boredom with his current position.

Letting out a short lived, though rather dramatic sigh, he found himself leaning his left shoulder against the wall in the inside of the Striaton City Gym, which also doubled as a charming little cafe run by himself and his brothers. Said two brothers were somewhere off in the cafe, while Cilan himself was inside of the battlefield area of the gym, having just been defeated by yet another trainer who had started with Oshawott. After handing out the badge, he had seen the trainer take off, leaving the green-haired boy in the room.

Alone.

Alone with his thoughts.

He was fourteen, yet, he was bound to this gym by responsibility and family.

He should be going on his own journey, not stuck inside of this gym, which now had lost it's sweet flavor, turning into a boring, bland taste. A Pokemon Connoisseur such as himself could not stand for the idea of being confined in this single city. Where every trainer was the same, every battle lacking difference. Every trainer he faced seemed the same to him- it seemed like it was rare he ever got a break. Trainers came in by the litter, challenging either himself or his brothers.

It was just so boring.

If he was this tired, this melancholy, this early in the day, who knew how he'd be by that evening.

He couldn't believe it was still early morning.

By early afternoon, at least a little spice had been added to this very bland day.

Though it sounded nearly impossible.

His brothers, Chili and Cress, had challenged him to a battle. On one condition.

He had to find a trainer to battle with him.

He had searched for hours, three to be exact, since he had been given the request. No more challengers for him would be accepted- instead, they'd be facing Cress, to match the types for an interesting change of pace.

And for those three hours, the green haired teen had been searching high and low in and around the city for a trainer to battle with him as a partner.

And he had no luck, at any point, as most trainers were too busy with their own issues to bother helping a gym leader most had beaten already.

He had one last hope- the PokeCenter, where all trainers would end up heading to eventually.

And it was that one last hope that kept him going, giving him the strength to run from the edge of town, the North-West exit, towards the center of town where the building would be located.

-Meanwhile, outside of the Pokemon Center-

The girl watched as her companion raced away from her, towards the southern exit of the city they had recently arrived in.

His blonde hair seemed to be defying gravity, a lop-sided grin curling his lips as his hand waved, arm stretched towards the sky. His orange eyes were stretched wide as well as he ran, his head turned to face to face the girl instead of watching where he was going. This caused him to lose track of what direction he was running in, and that enabled him to fall. Which he did- down the hill and out of the girl's sight.

The girl, who was standing on the sidewalk outside of the Poke Center's front door, was heavily amused by the sudden disappearance of her male friend, Barry. She knew he'd be fine, even if it took him a minute or so to get back up - for all she knew he was already standing and continuing to run into the Route they had exited earlier that morning. She smiled, letting a laugh escape her. Though, the smile was lost as she turned her head, beginning to make her way towards the Northern end of town, where the gym would be located. She assumed she'd be facing any of the three gym leaders- she had started with a Fire-type, but on her team she also had the Water-type starter Oshawott with her as well.

Who ever she'd face, she was confident in an easy win.

Although she knew that whenever she got cocky, usually something went wrong.

Pushing the thought away, she let her left hand drift upward to the strap of her backpack, black and gold in color, while her right hand was by her side, thumb through the belt loop, while her index finger rested on the first Poke ball on her belt.

Cilan didn't notice the girl that had turned the corner until he was too close. It was too late to stop running. Much to his dismay, the girl hadn't noticed him either until he was already tripping over her. He could feel what seemed to be her elbow hit him in the upper chest, which, combined with the momentum of the initial contact, knocked the breath out of his lungs. As both landed on the concrete, the male of the two tried to do the gentleman-like thing and block the girl's head from hitting the concrete, but that ended with both of them tumbling over each other. They tumbled across the concrete, coming to an eventual stop. Cilan could hear the sudden gasp as the female slammed into the ground first, while he followed shortly after.

The initial contact with the floor was not very painful at all. After a moment, when it really settled in, the pain arrived. An ache spread through Cilan like a tidal wave, feeling part of his hand scrape against the hot concrete, while the other gently slid across a soft surface. As he opened his eyes, he discovered hair falling over his pale skin, tickling his cheeks and nose and laying across the hand that hadn't hit the concrete.

And that the girl's head was turned away, but the eye he could see was indeed open, giving him an angry glare. As air was finally rushing back to his lungs, the girl laying partially underneath him and partially to the right of him moved her arm abruptly. Her elbow knocked into his upper chest again, causing him to slid back onto the concrete, pain shooting through him. He rolled onto his back, letting out a pained gasp. The wave of pain passed, leaving an ache as if the elbow had left a bruise on his chest, though it probably was from in the impact. He opened his mouth to speak, as his air rushed back into him once more, when he remembered he was dealing with a _lady,_ and not one of his brothers.

Now, where were his manners ?

Ignoring the pain and the appearance of what seemed to be a slight rip in his vest, the young man pushed himself into a kneeling position, then standing and forcing a careful smile. Without batting an eye, he extended his hand downwards to the girl on the ground, now beginning to speak.

"My sincerest apologies, miss. I hadn't seen you at first, but by the time I had we were already-"

"Well, you should have been paying attention."

Cilan was taken aback, blinking in surprise at the voice. It was hostile, accusing even, but had a layer of amusement behind it all. It was feminine- well, obviously. She _was_ a female. Of course she'd sound like it. But, her voice, the way that she said her words- she wasn't from Unova. He could tell just by how she spoke. Her slight accent, sounding like instead of saying 'should' she had said 'should'a' and that the 'you', referring to himself, sounded like a 'yall'. That was astonishing.

He felt her hand grasp his, and his arm being pulled on as she pulled herself up. With his assistance, she stood in front of him, brushing her hand across her clothes to remove some sort of dirt or a rock from the concrete. Her voice reached his ears again.

"Honestly, couldn't you tell I was walking ? Anyone could have seen me !"

Having already let go of her hand, the boy now brought said hand behind his back and the other to his side, trying to bring himself to smile.

"My apologies, once more. But now that we have run into each other, I must ask," He began, although he stumbled back as he looked up once more. The girl had stepped forward, a loud shout escaping her.

"Don't rush me, you didn't even let me finish ! If you had listened well enough you could'a heard me beginning my next sentence. You got a hearing problem or what ?"

Her eyes were green, Cilan noticed.

Which his silence earned a scowl as the girl rocked back on her heels, bringing her arms over her chest and crossing them, irritated. She now stood in front of him, expecting an answer.

"Ah, ma'am, I don't seem to have a hearing issue. Hear me out, please, before jumping to conclusions."

An eerie silence emerged as he waited for her reply, his arms by his side and his mouth slightly parted, words laying on his tongue as he readied his response for anything she might throw at him.

Taking the chance to finally observe the girl, he let his eyes drift from her shoes up towards her face- the green eyes he had noticed before locked on his own.

She had dirty blonde hair, a mixture between brown and a light tan with the shades twisting through her hair. Most of it was pulled into a ponytail that began around the center of her head. The tip of her ponytail fell to around the center of her back, just barely, from what he could tell. Her skin wasn't much unlike his own, a pale color but enough of a tan to prove she had been in the sun a lot recently. Her over shirt wasn't a shirt at all- but a dark gray colored jacket with golden accents on the zipper, the hem, and the collar. She had on a brown belt, wrapped around her waist, which complimented the light colored jeans that went down to her ankles. Her feet were covered by black sneakers, with cream-yellow accents. Her jacket was unzipped slightly, revealing the black colored shirt underneath. She had on a black book bag with gold accents. Across her belt were multiple Poke Balls, one being a Love Ball, with a heart decorating the top of it, another beside it being a Luxury Ball, followed by three normal Poke Balls and a Moon Ball, a crescent moon in the center of the top of the ball.

"You gonna keep staring or say something ?" The girl spat, the hostility masking her voice.

Cilan remembered his manners. It wasn't polite to remain silent, although the girl had been quite rude in her words. Nodding, he crossed one arm behind his back, bowing in greeting. The other hand was extended towards the girl.

"I suppose I need to properly introduce myself. My name is Cilan, and I happen to be gym leader of the Striaton Gym, which I see you were headed to. Your name ?"

The girl uncrossed her arms, slowly extending her hand to Cilan while opening her mouth to speak.

"You're the Gym Leader ? Judging by your hair, I'm guessing you're the grass-type specialist. I'm Caroline, from Johto." Her fingers curled around his wrist, shaking his hand. "And you're right, I was headed to the gym." Although her words were not being spit, she was still frowning.

Cilan saw his chance, but decided to wait a moment before sealing the deal.

"I am definitely enchanted to meet you, Caroline. It's a pleasure to meet someone from such a far region."

He noticed the pink dusting her cheeks at his words.

He remained smiling as she replied, "Yeah, I'm glad to finally meet someone who'll talk to the girl from Johto."

That made sense. Certain people weren't exactly welcoming, but, if they had to deal with this girl's attitude, he could partially see why people would stray away. But, he'd give her the benefit of the doubt. She might just be able to spice up the battle after all.

As both drew their hands to their sides, the green-haired of the two tried to remain smiling. That wasn't too hard, as the realization settled in. She had that look in her eye. It wasn't a young, inexperienced, naive look.

She had a challenger's eyes.

"Now that we have introductions out of the way, please, let me ask my question."

She had given a nod of approval. Cilan tried not to beam.

"Miss Caroline, I would like to know if I may have the honor of having a battle with you."

Her eyes were gleaming, and he noticed a small twitch of her lips. As if she was trying not to smile. But, he was being quite dramatic, giving a small bow with his hand extended to her.

The girl, Caroline, brought her hand up once more. This time, though, it wasn't for a hand shake. Her fingers curled inwards, and she gave a thumbs up.

Cilan noticed her lips twitch again as her hand now brushed his palm, shaking his hand again.

"You may. My first gym battle of the Unova region. You better make it good."

As soon as he heard the words, he straightened himself, letting himself grin.

"That's wonderful ! Come on, there's no time to waste."

He moved his grip to the end of her sleeve, wrapping his hand around her wrist and pulling her along after himself. He could hear the initial surprised gasp, but instead of pulling him back she seemed to be running after him.

When they had entered the gym, Cilan had told the girl to stay near the door and wait for him. He had disappeared behind one of the doors to the other end of the room, earning an odd look from quite a few of the customers. But the other trainers resumed whatever they had been doing.

Caroline noticed some of them even had their Pokemon out. Obviously they were smaller Pokemon, or else most of them probably wouldn't be able to fit on the laps of their trainer, or sit on the ground comfortably.

"So Pokemon can come out in here. Let's see..."

The girl reached down to her belt, brushing her fingers along the top of each Poke Ball with ease. Cautiously, she unlatched two, both fairly normal in color. Nothing that really made them stand out.

"I think you deserve some attention."

Locking one of the Poke Balls onto her belt once more, she held the other firmly in her right hand. Using her thumb, she tapped the button on the center of the capsule, feeling the ball open and a red light emerge from the Poke Ball into the air. A creature was formed, the red light slowly disappearing with the colors of said creature replacing it. As the light faded, the creature made a sound.

"Muuun," The Pokemon hummed.

Caroline latched the Poke Ball onto her belt, extending her arms outward towards the Pokemon. The pink-colored monster hovered in the air in front of her trainer, floating towards her eagerly. The trainer wrapped her arms around the medium-sized Psychic type, pulling her Pokemon closer to her. The Pokemon hummed in delight.

The trainer soon became bored, quietly taking a seat at an empty table and her Munna resting on her lap. The girl let her cheek rest on her palm, elbow propped up on the table, while her other hand stroked the soft pink fur on her Pokemon's back. Her Psychic-type Pokemon was making some sort of rumble, as if purring like the girl's Persian she hadn't seen since her journey in Johto.

A calm feeling washed over her as she found herself reminiscing on memories of said journey. It seemed so long since then, so long since she had gotten her starter Pokemon and started on her first adventure, leaving her home town and venturing into the unknown.

She closed her eyes, leaning into her hand, the memories leaving her head as she found herself drifting away from reality and into dreamland.

Drifting...

Drifting..

Drifting..

Suddenly Munna stirred, startling the girl.

Her eyes snapped open, and noticed what Munna was worked up about. The customers across the cafe were standing, most of them, heading towards the doors in the back that Cilan had disappeared behind. Standing on either side of the doors were two other boys- one with blazing red hair and one with navy-blue locks that swept across his face. Both wore an outfit nearly identical to Cilan's.

While the two held open the door, the red-haired of the pair seemed to be talking non-stop to those who were entering the next room. He wore a cocky grin, one that reminded her much of her friend's own. She couldn't help but smile in return, noticing that his gaze had met her own. Her grin mirrored his.

Munna moved off of her lap, now floating in the air next to the girl.

"Munna, return." Caroline whispered, returning the Psychic-Pokemon to her Poke Ball. Just as she clipped said object back onto her belt, a voice reached her ears. The voice made her jump in surprise, looking up at who had spoken.

"You didn't fall asleep on me, did you ?"

Cilan stood in front of her now, an innocent smile crossing his lips. His hand was extended towards her once more, like when they were outside only a little while before.

Her ears felt hot with embarassment.

"No ! I was just bored !" She said in defense, earning a small laugh from the older boy.

"That's perfectly all right. Come on, you do want to battle, don't you ?"

Scowling, the girl stood, avoiding eye contact.

"Of course I do."

"Follow me, then. It's time for your gym battle."

**It may be shorter than what I originally planned, but I think it's perfect for a first chapter.**

**So now you've met Cilan, Caroline, and gotten a glimpse of her friend, Barry. You'll recognize him from the Sinnoh league arc of the anime and the DS games.**

**Caroline is indeed an OC of mine. So, out of all of them, currently she is the only character in this story I own. Barry's Pokemon team will be my ideas and such, but his overall character doesn't belong to me. Obviously.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter of Shadowed Dusk c:**


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